Challenge 3. “Zero Hardware Testing: Automate firmware and software testing and validation through simulation and emulation, reducing reliance on hardware and accelerating development cycles”
About Azcoyen
Azkoyen Group is a Spanish technology multinational with more than 80 years of industrial experience. The Group designs, develops, and markets automated solutions in the fields of Coffee & Vending Systems, Payment Technologies, and Time & Security, combining technological expertise, industrial capacity, and market proximity.
With production facilities and offices in various countries and a commercial presence in more than 100 markets, the Azkoyen Group maintains a clear international focus, supported by a strategy based on innovation, diversification, and sustainable development. Customer focus, technological excellence, ethical commitment, and respect for people are among the values that guide the Group’s activities. Building on this foundation, the Azkoyen Group works with a long-term vision to establish itself as a global leader in automated solutions, payment methods, and security systems.
Discover Challenge 3, which Grupo Azcoyen has submitted to the Open Innovation program.
Challenge 3. “Zero Hardware Testing: Automate firmware and software testing and validation through simulation and emulation, reducing reliance on hardware and accelerating development cycles”
In the current context of firmware and software development at Azkoyen, a significant portion of the testing and validation processes relies on manual tasks and the availability of physical hardware. This situation slows down development, limits the ability to iterate, and makes it difficult to perform tests in a systematic and reproducible manner.
Furthermore, the need for hardware to validate functionality creates bottlenecks in the process, increases wait times, and raises the risk of human error or inconsistencies in testing. All of this affects both development efficiency and the final quality of the product.
In this context, Azkoyen sees an opportunity to move toward a more automated model based on the use of simulators and/or emulators that can replicate the system’s behavior without the need for physical hardware. This approach would allow testing to be integrated into continuous integration (CI) pipelines, enabling more agile, repeatable, and traceable validation.
The challenge is to define and implement a practical approach that will enable:
Automate firmware and software testing and validation processes.
Reduce dependence on hardware during the early and recurring phases of development.
Integrate test execution into continuous integration environments.
Improve the robustness, coverage, and repeatability of validations.
The goal is to move toward a more efficient, scalable, and quality-oriented development model, where validation is an ongoing process rather than a bottleneck.
Implementing a solution in this area would enable Azkoyen to make an impact in several key areas:
Expected benefits
Reduced cycle times: accelerating the development → testing → correction process, enabling faster iteration.
Improved product quality: early detection of errors and reduced risk of regressions in new versions.
Greater repeatability and traceability: systematic testing with comparable and auditable results.
Reduced reliance on hardware: the ability to validate functionality without always needing physical equipment.
Reduced rework: identifying errors early on, thereby preventing their impact in later stages of development.
Optimization of internal resources: freeing up the team's time for tasks with higher added value.
Scalability of the testing process: the ability to expand test coverage without proportionally increasing the effort.
What are you looking for in a partner?
Azkoyen is seeking partners capable of designing and implementing advanced testing solutions tailored to embedded environments and focused on real-world applicability.
The following will be given special consideration:
Experience in simulation and emulation: developing environments that replicate the behavior of embedded systems without physical hardware.
Skills in test automation: designing test suites (smoke, regression, functional validation) that can run unattended.
Expertise in continuous integration (CI/CD): the ability to integrate tests into pipelines and automate their execution within the development workflow.
A practical and incremental approach: the ability to identify high-impact cases and develop progressive solutions that can be scaled over time.
Technical criteria for software quality: applying best practices to improve system robustness and maintainability.
Ability to collaborate: working closely with internal teams to tailor solutions to the actual development context.
It is not just a matter of automating tests, but of transforming the validation model into a more continuous, reliable, and scalable approach, enabling Azkoyen to improve agility and quality in the development of its solutions.
Do you have any questions?
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The Open Innovation program is funded by
